The ongoing situation between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall, involving constant social media jabs between the lineal and interim UFC heavyweight champions, continues to evolve. UFC CEO Dana White, however, consistently states the title unification fight will take place whenever questioned.
UFC veteran Renato Moicano, however, is not so optimistic.
Moicano voiced his strong disapproval regarding Aspinall`s prolonged wait for a title unification opportunity, which he called “absurd.” Speaking to MMA Fighting, he believes Jones is deliberately stalling, much like Conor McGregor did with Michael Chandler, aiming to wait until Tom Aspinall is past his prime. Moicano noted the key difference: Jones is a sitting champion, but McGregor`s immense “hype” gave him even greater influence than a standard champion.
While Moicano thinks Dana White genuinely wants the fight to happen, he also points out that the UFC needs Jon Jones involved, at least publicly, during crucial TV deal negotiations. This reliance on his image provides leverage, even if the promotion could potentially move on if Jones chose retirement over fighting a young contender like Aspinall.
According to Moicano, the UFC faces a dilemma: while they want to resolve situations like the heavyweight title picture, they rely heavily on the image and drawing power of stars like Jon Jones and Conor McGregor. Losing them would significantly impact the company, especially since there aren`t as many massive, transcendent stars today compared to the era of Ronda Rousey or Brock Lesnar. Moicano feels the popularity is more spread out now, and the only recent fighter with similar potential was Alex Pereira, who `lost` that status by not beating Magomed Ankalaev. He then went through several current champions, critically assessing their lack of broad popularity (Pantoja, Dvalishvili, Makhachev outside the Arab world, Du Plessis, Ankalaev, calling Gane ineffective) and contrasting them with potentially more marketable fighters (Poirier, Chimaev). Ultimately, Moicano believes the UFC is largely at the mercy of Jones and McGregor. Despite this, he personally feels Jones should be stripped and Aspinall should fight another contender. However, he admitted the heavyweight division lacks obvious alternative opponents willing to fight, concluding that the division is `in Jon Jones’ hands.` Moicano suspects Jones is merely stalling and will ultimately avoid fighting Aspinall due to the high risk posed by the young, athletic Brit.
Moicano concludes that the mere idea of Jones fighting Aspinall, driven by fan demand, significantly boosts Jones` negotiating leverage. He draws a parallel to Conor McGregor, who holds “absurd” leverage. Moicano acknowledges the UFC`s role in creating McGregor`s stardom, noting that replicating this requires a specific personality combined with the UFC`s powerful `machine.` He adds that the UFC must be cautious not to let their `wolf` (star) grow so large it can bite the hand that feeds it.
With increasing site fees for events held away from their base and even larger television deals on the horizon, the UFC`s long-term financial outlook appears stronger than ever.
Moicano explains that the UFC is currently making money in numerous ways, especially with the upcoming shift in broadcasting partners (ESPN possibly leaving, Netflix or Amazon potentially stepping in). He notes that these new deals are reportedly worth billions annually. He emphasizes that for much of their business, the UFC doesn`t necessarily need huge stars headlining; they can sign fighters from the Contender Series on smaller contracts (like 8+8 or 10+10 thousand dollars to show and win), quickly promote winners, and replace losers. This efficient `machine` makes them largely invulnerable. However, he believes their current reliance on Jon Jones and McGregor stems from the need for impressive viewership numbers during these critical TV deal negotiations. McGregor, Jones, and perhaps Alex Pereira are key to demonstrating value to potential partners like Netflix. Once the multi-year deal is secured, Moicano speculates, the UFC might be less dependent on these specific stars, having locked in significant revenue.
